AN  ADDRESS, 


■'>1 

. 3> 


AN  ADDRESS 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 

AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 


IN  CELEBRATION  OP  ITS 


SEMI-CENTENJ[IAL  AmVERSAEY, 


THUESDAY  EVENING,  OCTOBEE  11,  1877. 


ELLIOT  O.  GOWDIN. 


New  Yoke  : 

PRIHS-TEID  FOR  THE  HSTSTITXJTE. 

1877. 


\EXTRACT  FROM  THE  MINUTES.I 


At  a joint  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  Board  of  Mana- 
gers of  the  American  Institute,  of ' the  City  of  New  York,  held  on 
Thursday,  the  11th  of  October,  the  following  Resolution  was  unani- 
mously adopted  : 

Resolmd,  That  the  thanks  of  the  American  Institute  be  presented  to 
the  Hon.  Elliot  C.  Cowdin,  for  the  interesting  and  instructive 
address  delivered  this  evening,  in  celebration  of  the  Semi-Cen- 
tennial Anniversary  of  the  American  Institute,  and  that  a copy  of 
the  same  be  requested  for  publication. 

JOHN  W.  CHAMBERS, 

Secretary. 


33/ 


ADDRESS. 


'CS 


Mk.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  ; 

For  the  third  time  I have  been  honored  with  an  invita- 
tion to  address  yon  on  the  occasion  of  your  Annual  Ex- 
hibition, and  it  is  highly  gratifying  to  me  to  be  able  now 
to  unite  with  you  in  celebrating  the  Semi-Centennial  An- 
niversary of  this  useful  and  renowned  institution. 

In  the  year  1827,  several  public-spirited  gentlemen  of 
]^ew  York  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  in  this  me- 
tropolis a national  association  for  the  protection  of  American 
industry  and  labor,  and  in  1829  their  enterprise  assumed  a 
legal  form,  under  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  incorporating 
The  American  Institute  of  the  City  of  New  ITorTc. 

Its  charter  claims  to  encourage  and  promote  domestic  in- 
dustry in  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  and  the  arts, 
by  bestowing  rewards  on  those  who  shall  excel  in  these 
branches.  It  is  one  of  the  attractive  features  of  this  organ- 
ization that  it  is  not  bounded  by  State  or  municipal  lines, 
like  most  societies  of  an  analogous  kind,  but  is  national  in 
its  character.  It  not  only  fosters  agriculture,  commerce, 
manufactures,  and  the  arts  in  all  their  branches,  but  invites 
to  its  exhibitions  the  products  of  industry  and  genius  from  all 
^ sections  of  the  Uuion.  And  it  is  a noteworthy  fact,  unpre- 
cedented  in  the  history  of  similar  enterprises,  that  from  the 


4 


first,  in  years  of  prosperity  and  adversity,  in  peace  and  in 
war,  this  Institute  has  never  failed  to  hold  its  Annual  Ex- 
hibition. 

Duidng  what  an  eventful  half-century  this  association  has 
existed  ! If  it  were  possible  to  place  the  splendid  display 
of  the  present  Exhibition  side  by  side  with  some  of  the  ear- 
lier ones  held  by  this  Institute,  we  should  have  before  us 
striking  proofs  of  the  marvellous  progress  of  the  country 
within  that  period  in  those  pursuits  that  advance  the  inter- 
ests, enhance  the  comforts,  enlarge  the  knowledge,  refine 
the  taste,  and  improve  in  a multiplicity  of  ways  the  condi- 
tion of  society. 

Our  republic  has  indeed  grown  wonderfully  in  all  direc- 
tions since  your  first  Exhibition  was  held.  We  have  added 
to  the  Union  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  valua- 
ble territory  on  the  verge  of  the  tropics,  near  the  margin  of  the 
Arctic  circle,  and  along  the  Pacific  coast.  Of  our  territorial 
wealth,  an  idea  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  Texas 
alone  is  larger  than  France,  which  country  supports  a popu- 
lation equal  to  ours  of  ten  years  ago.  Cities  have  grown  up 
where  there  were  then  only  little  hamlets  or  a barren  wil- 
derness. W e have  dotted  the  entire  sm*f ace  of  the  land  with 
schools  and  colleges.  We  have  waged  war  on  a scale  that 
astonished  the  world  by  its  magnitude,  placing  in  the  field 
in  a single  campaign  armies  more  munerous  than  the  en- 
tire adult  population  of  the  coimtry  at  the  time  of  the  in 
auguration  of  Washington.  But  throughout  this  half-cen- 
tury of  marvels,  in  nothing  has  the  advance  of  the  nation 
been  more  rapid,  beneficent,  and  gratifying  than  in  those 
useful  pursuits  and  ornamental  arts  which  it  is  the  object 
of  the  American  Institute  to  protect  and  reward. 

The  American  people  are  working  out  on  a broader  thea- 
tre than  that  occupied  by  any  other  nation,  certain  grand 
problems  wherein  are  deeply  involved  the  interests  of  man- 


5 


kind.  And  it  is  not  vainglorious  to  add  that  the  peoples  of 
every  clime,  color,  creed,  and  condition  are  watching  the 
solution  of  these  problems  with  a solicitude  proportioned  to 
their  intelligence  and  their  facilities  for  observation.  I can 
only  name  some  of  the  chief  of  these  problems  : 

1st.  Whether  a democratic-republican  system  of  govern- 
ment can  exist  for  a long  period  in  a country  of  vast  extent, 
inhabited  by  a large  and  diversified  population  ; 

2d.  Whether,  in  such  a country,  the  utmost  liberty  of  the 
individual,  including  the  right  to  elect  his  rulers,  is  compat- 
ible with  the  maintenance  of  social  order  and  the  complete 
supremacy  of  the  laws  ; 

3d.  Whether,  in  such  a country,  possessing  unparalleled 
natural  resources,  where  vast  amounts  of  capital  are  directed 
and  controlled  by  a few  individuals,  where  large  masses  of 
laborers  are  employed  by  corporations,  and  where  the  labor- 
ing class  forms  the  majority  of  the  voting  population,  there 
can  be  such  harmony  between  capitalists  and  laborers  as  to 
avoid  either  oppression  on  the  one  hand  or  discontent  on 
the  other. 

Besides  these,  many  important  questions  might  be  enu- 
merated which  the  American  people  are  deciding  before  the 
eyes  of  the  world  and  for  future  ages  ; but  those  just  speci- 
fied now  demand  peculiarly  earnest  and  solemn  attention. 
Although  these  three  subjects  are  closely  allied,  the  first 
two  need  only  to  be  glanced  at,  while  the  last  demands  more 
elaborate  consideration. 

The  late  civil  war  subjected  our  political  institutions  to  a 
test  such  as  no  modem  nation  has  encountered.  Both  par- 
ties to  the  conflict  have  emerged  from  the  trial  with  a faith 
in  the  stability  and  recuperative  energy  of  our  democratic- 
republican  system  that  was  not  excelled  by  that  of  the 
Washingtons  and  Franklins,  the  Hamiltons  and  Madisons, 
of  the  revolutionary  and  constitutional  epochs.  The  results 


6 


of  our  frecpently  recurring  elections,  local,  State,  and  na- 
tional ; the  respect  felt  for  the  laws  by  the  great  body  of 
our  people,  and  the  general  disposition  to  remedy  defects  in 
our  civil  system  and  abuses  in  its  administration  by  the 
peaceful  agency  of  the  ballot,  have  strengthened  our  heredi- 
tary belief  that  the  largest  liberty  of  the  individual  and  the 
widest  expansion  of  the  suffrage  are  compatible  with  social 
order  in  a great,  entei*prising,  and  daring  nation. 

While  the  strikes  and  riots  that  have  recently  convulsed 
the  country  have  brought  all  three  of  these  questions  up  for 
review,  they  have  imparted  peculiar  rividness  and  intensity 
to  discussions  concerning  theone  last  mentioned — Capital 
cmcl  Labor. 

It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President,  that  no  place  or  occasion 
can  be  more  appropriate  for  the  consideration  of  this  subject 
than  the  anniversaiy  of  an  association  whose  chief  aim  is  to 
promote  and  reward  those  vocations  that  depend  for  their 
advancement,  nay,  for  their  very  existence,  upon  the  co- 
operation of  capital  and  labor.  There  is  nothing  either  in 
capital  or  labor  that  should  make  them  antagonistic.  Cap- 
ital is  of  no  value  without  labor  ; and  labor  cannot  flourish 
without  capital.  Mutually  dependent  upon  one  another, 
they  ought  always  to  be  allies  ; and  society  and  government 
should  cherish  and  protect  both.  These  propositions  are  so 
self-evident  that  one  would  think  they  commanded  universal 
and  unquestioning  assent.  TJnfortmiately  the  fatal  fallacy 
that  capital  and  labor  are  enemies,  that  all  capitalists  are 
despots  and  all  laborers  slaves,  flnds  credence  with  masses 
of  men  in  the  Old  World,  and  has  even  perverted  many 
minds  in  the  IS’ew. 

The  tyranny  of  capital  and  the  slavery  of  labor  is  a 
fundamental  article  in  the  creed  of  the  Internationals.,  and 
underlies  the  despotism  of  the  English  Trades-Unions.  It 
flnds  its  exposition  and  victory  in  the  Commime  of  Paris — 


7 


one  of  the  most  remarkable  episodes  in  the  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  to  which  I shall  again  refer. 

We  hear  much  just  now  of  the  rights  of  labor.  But  has 
the  laboring  man  any  rights  except  those  he  holds  in  com- 
mon with  the  rest  of  his  fellow-citizens  ? So,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  capitalist  has  no  right  to  any  exclusive  privileges. 
Widely  as  we  may  dilfer  in  capacity  and  opportunities, 
equal  rights  before  the  law  is  the  privilege  of  every  Amer- 
ican citizen,  regardless  of  birth,  race,  or  condition. 

Every  great  enterprise  is  an  illustration  of  the  absolute 
interdependence  of  capital  and  labor.  The  iron  in  the  mine 
is  the  capital  of  its  owner.  But  it  is  dead  capital  until  the 
laborer  brings  it  to  the  surface,  and  moulds  it  into  useful 
forms.  Each  class  furnishes  what  the  other  needs  ; and  both 
should  be  protected  by  and  be  obedient  to  equal  laws. 

W e are  more  or  less  familiar  with  three  systems  of  labor  as 
they  have  existed  in  this  country.  First,  chattel  slavery, 
wherein  the  capitalist  absolutely  owned  the  labor  as  prop" 
erty.  This  is  a very  old  system,  widely  prevalent  in  every 
age.  Happily  for  us,  this  unnatural  relation  of  capital  and 
labor  has  disappeared  from  among  us  forever. 

Another  plan,  pervading  all  civilized  nations,  is  the  wages 
system.  It  is  as  old  as  the  world.  I must  be  understood  as 
referring  to  that  relationship  of  capital  and  labor  wherein 
the  laborer  works  for  a stipulated  rate,  to  be  paid  by  his 
employer,  and  in  which  the  laborer  has  no  direct  pecuniary 
interest  in  the  products  of  his  toil,  whether  the  results  are 
profitable  or  otherwise.  This  is  the  method  whereby  the 
great  bulk  of  the  business  of  this  country,  and  indeed  of  all 
commercial  nations,  is  carried  on. 

The  other  system  I will  mention  is  that  wherein  the 
workman  shares  more  or  less  in  the  profits  of  the  business  in 
which  he  is  employed : sometimes  being  paid  partly  by 
wages  at  a fixed  rate,  and  partly  by  a percentage  of  the 


% 


8 


profits  ; and,  in  other  instances,  being  wholly  compensated  by 
a share  in  the  profits.  This  plan,  in  its  main  features,  bears 
a close  resemblance  to  a common  copartnership.  It  had 
been  adopted  in  this  country,  and  in  some  others  to  a very 
limited  extent  only,  but  is  just  now  evoking  much  discussion 
among  us. 

Another  system  is  a modification  of  Fourierism  or  Com- 
munism— where  all  things  are  held  in  common,  and  where 
in  reality  every  body  owns  every  thing,  and  nobody  owns 
any  thing.  Excepting  in  some  small  associations  like  the 
Shakers,  this  system  exists  in  America  rather  as  a theory 
than  as  a fact. 

The  doctrines  of  recent  French  Communism  are  set  forth 
by  its  apostles  and  advocates  in  this  country  as  follows  : 

“ The  state  shall  take  possession  of  and  administer  prop- 
erty in  the  interest  of  the  people,  just  as  it  administers  the 
postal  service.  The  army  and  navy  property  belongs  to  the 
state,  and  the  state  must  have  the  direction  of  it.  The  gov- 
ernment took  possession  of  the  slave  property  of  the  South. 
The  working-people  are  enslaved  by  capital ; the  state  must 
emancipate  the  working-people  by  confiscating  capital — the 
chain  which  enthrals  them.  We  are  Communists,” - these 
theorists  say,  “ but  we  are  not  for  a division  of  property. 
That  has  already  been  made,  and  the  bulk  of  property  has 
come  into  the  hands  of  a few  rich  men.  Our  plan  is  to 
give  property  to  the  state — that  is,  to  the  entire  people 
instead  of  to  a few.” 

The  French  Communists  entertained  these  views,  and  since 
they  are  being  seriously  put  forth  and  vehemently  urged 
upon  the  consideration  of  the  workingmen  of  the  United 
States  as  the  basis  for  political  action,  and  since  a tree  is 
known  by  its  fruits,  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  take  a 
rapid  survey  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  now,  held  up  for 
our  admiration  and  imitation,  and  in  fact  imitated  to  a cer- 


9 


tain  extent  by  the  incendiaries  and  plunderers  who,  like  the 
Scotch  Rob  Roy,  followed 

“ the  good  old  plan 

That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 

And  they  should  keep^who  can.” 

Under  pretence  that  they  only  wanted  local  self-government, 
the  Communists  of  Paris,  in  the  outset,  secured  the  acqui- 
escence of  thousands  of  good  citizens.  Great  meetings  were 
called,  and  there  was  chosen  a famous  committee,  which  was 
to  oppose  the  regular  government  of  France.  On  that 
committee  there  were  the  names  of  no  men  eminent  for 
character  or  ability,  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  were  those 
of  men  infamous  for  their  crimes  and  atrocities,  conspicuous 
among  whom  was  Assi,  the  chief  fomenter  of  the  strikes  of 
Creuzot,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  International  Associoy- 
tion  of  Worhingmen. 

Proclamations  bearing  the  historic  device,  Liberty, 
Equality,  Fraternity,  were  speedily  issued.  The  first 
decree  appeared  on  the  day  the  Prussians  marched  into 
Paris.  It  informed  the  citizens  that  the  committee,  after 
having  thought  of  decreeing  the  annihilation  of  the  enemy, 
had  given  up  that  plan,  and  concluded  to  leave  them  undis- 
turbed. 

Every  man,  from  nineteen  to  forty  years  of  age,  was 
compelled  to  enroll  himself  in  the  marching  battalions  of 
the  National  Guard,  under  penalty  of  being  sentenced  as  a 
deserter. 

The  Tricolor  was  hauled  down,  and  in  its  place  was  raised 
the  Red  Flag — the  symbol  of  rebellion  and  murder. 

Another  decree  suppressed  the  payment  of  three  quarters 
of  rents  due. 

Confiscation  of  public  and  private  property  was  the  order 
of  the  day. 

Avowedly  hostile  to  religion,  they  insulted  the  priests  and 


10 


decreed  the  confiscation  of  church  property.  They  plun- 
dered railway  companies  and  emptied  poor-boxes.  They 
undertook  to  rifie  the  vaults  of  the  Bank  of  France,  but 
were  repulsed  by  the  energy  and  courage  of  its  officers. 
They  fired  upon  a procession  of  peaceable,  unarmed  citizens 
parading  under  the  banner  of  Law  and  Order.  All  per- 
sons suspected  of  loyalty  to  the  regular  government  were 
to  be  imprisoned  and  brought  before  a jury  of  accusation, 
composed  of  National  G-uards.  If  pronounced  guilty,  they 
were  to  be  shot  on  the  first  execution  of  a Communist  by 
the  Versailles  Government.  It  was  by  this'  decree  that 
Monseigneur  Darboy,  Archbishop  of  Paris,  in  spite  of  the 
earnest  efforts  of  Minister  Washburn e,  was  murdered ; as 
w^ere  also  the  Curate  of  the  Madeleine,  and  several  other 
priests  ; and  notably  M.  Bonjean,  President  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  one  of  the  noblest  of  men,  who  fell  a victim  at  the 
hands  of  the  assassins,  even  after  the  cause  of  the  Commune 
was  irrevocably  lost. 

The  first  victims  of  the  insurgents  were  two  distinguished 
generals.  In  the  language  of  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
Commune  : 

General  Lecomte,  having  wished  to  fire  on  women  and 
children,  and  General  Clement-Thomas,  having  gone  to 
Montmartre,  to  obtain  a plan  of  the  barricades,  both  had 
been  victims  of  popular  justice.”  Ay,  in  the  name  of 
popular  justice,”  both  were  murdered  without  cause  and 
without  trial  by  drunken  brutes  wearing  the  unifonn  of  the 
National  Guard.  General  Thomas,  on  being  asked  if  he 
had  any  thing  to  say  ? Yes,”  he  exclaimed,  as  his  dying 
words  ; you  are  cowards  and  assassins  !” 

When  the  Commune,  after  its  reign  of  spoliation,  de- 
oauchery,  madness,  and  murder,  expired  in  blood  and  flame, 
the  International  Society^  of  London,  hastened  to  indorse 
and  eulogize  its  crimes.  In  proof  of  this,  I have  to  say  that 


11 


the  General  Council  of  the  International  Society  issued 
from  its  headquarters  in  London  an  address,  in  which  the 
burning  of  Paris  and  the  execution  of  sixty-four  hostages, 
including  the  archbishop  and  chief-justice,  were  justified. 
And  moreover,  the  Paris  Journal^  the  organ  of  the  Com- 
mune, took  the  same  ground  in  an  elaborate  article  ending 
thus : 

“ The  burning  of  Paris  ! We  accept  the  responsibility. 
The  old  society  must  perish.  It  will  perish.  A gigan- 
tic effort  has  already  shaken  it ; a final  effort  must  pros- 
trate it.”  ■ 

But,  Mr.  President,  this  is  not  the  time  nor  the  place  to 
dwell  longer  upon  these  tragic  scenes,  or  to  attempt  to 
analyze  the  acts  of  a body  of  men  who  claimed  plenary, 
legislative,  and  executive  power,  and  who  held  Paris  in 
thrall  for  a brief  period,  and  yet  long  enough  to  inflict  in- 
calculable misery  on  their  country.  Every  one  knows  how 
this  terrible  tragedy  closed ; how  the  Communists  did  not 
respect  even  a flag  of  truce,  but  butchered  its  bearer ; and 
how,  as  an  act  of  despairing  vengeance,  they  decreed  the 
destruction  of  Paris — an  act  of  vandalism  long  before  pro- 
jected, but  fortunately  only  partially  successful.  All  these 
acts  were  mainly  inspired  by  these  modern  regenerators  of 
society — the  leaders  of  the  International  Association  of 
Workingmen. 

Are  you  fully  conscious,  Mr-  President,  that  emissaries 
of  this  infamous  organization,  avowed  Communists,  are 
now  in  our  midst,  ardently  engaged  in  an  attempt  to  inflame 
workingmen  against  their  employers,  and  to  inculcate  the 
belief  that  they  are  their  natural  enemies  ? It  is  a matter 
of  congratulation,  however,  that  a late  attempted  Communist 
demonstration  in  the  city  of  New  York  was  a complete 
failure.  He  is  a shallow  and  presumptuous  person  who 
would  attempt  to  undervalue  the  intelligence  of  the  work- 


12 


ing  classes  of  America.  Knowing,  as  they  do,  the  necessity 
for  an  absolute  identity  of  interest  between  employer  and 
employed,  they  will  never  adopt  the  frantic  follies  of  crazy 
Utopians  or  self-seeking  agitators.  Even  the  most  plausible 
and  insinuating  advocates  of  Communism  have  made  few 
proselytes  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  American  workingman  stands  on  a vantage-ground 
which  is  wanting  to  his  trans-Atlantic  brother.  He  has 
the  benefit  of  free  schools,  free  speech,  a free  press,  free 
meetings,  and  a share,  through  the  ballot,  in  municipal. 
State,  and  national  legislation.  It  is  hard  to  convince  such 
a man  that  he  is  a slave.  Moreover,  when  he  surveys  the 
tyrant  capitalists  whom  the  Communist  emissary  points  out 
as  despots,  he  finds  that  one  graduated  from  the  cai’penter’s 
shop,  another  from  the  plough,  another  from  the  mine, 
another  from  the  ship’s  deck,  and  so  concludes  that  capital 
itself  is  only  a synonym  for  labor. 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  having  glanced  at  the  various 
systems  of  labor,  and  at  one  of  the  most  significant  manifest 
tations  of  modern  socialism,  let  me  submit  a few  general 
propositions  perhaps  not  unworthy  of  the  attention  of  em- 
ployer and  employed. 

With  us  labor  is  free  ! Ho  man  is  bound  to  work  for 
another  unless  he  chooses  to  do  so.  Ho  man  can  be  com- 
pelled to  accept  of  any  rate  of  wages,  or  submit  to  any 
special  rales  relating  to  his  employment,  unless  he  agrees 
thereto.  Any  laborer  has  a right  to  use  all  his  infiuence  in 
peaceful  methods  to  persuade  others  to  stop  work  at  certain 
rates,  unless  they  are  under  contract  to  continue ; but  he 
has  no  right  to  coerce  his  fellow-laborers  to  cease  working 
on  any  conditions  they  see  fit  to  make  or  agree  to.  Every 
man  is  at  liberty  to  work  as  few  or  as  many  hours 
per  day  as  he  chooses,  or  as  his  physical  condition  will  war- 
rant. This  is  no  new  doctrine.  A century  ago,  England’s 
great  economist,  Adam  Smith,  declared  that : 


13 


The  property  which  every  man  has  in  his  own  labor,  as 
it  is  the  original  foundation  of  all  other  property,  so  it  is 
the  most  sacred  and  inviolable.  The  patrimony  of  a poor 
man  lies  in  the  strength  and  dexterity  of  his  hands  ; and 
to  hinder  him  from  employing  his  strength  and  dexterity 
in  what  manner  he  thinks  proper,  without  injury  to  his 
neighbor,  is  a plain  violation  of  this  most  sacred  property. 
It  is  a manifest  encroachment  upon  the  just  liberty  of  both 
the  workman  and  those  who  might  be  disposed  to  employ 
him.  As  it  hinders  the  one  from  working  at  what  he  thinks 
proper,  so  it  hinders  the  other  from  employing  whom  they 
think  proper.” 

France,  speaking  by  the  voice  of  the  illustrious  Turgot, 
the  minister  of  Louis  XYI.,  said  : 

Labor  is  the  poor  man’s  property  : no  property  is  more 
sacred  : and  neither  time  nor  authority  can  sanction  the  vio- 
lation of  his  right  freely  to  dispose  of  this  his  only  resource.” 
Xo  true  friend  of  the  laboring  classes  will  make  war  on 
this  righteous  doctrine. 

On  the  other  hand,  capitalists  have  an  unquestionable 
right  to  make  such  contracts,  rules,  and  regulations  as  may 
be  necessary  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  their  business, 
as  well  as  for  the  maintenance  of  good  order — always  mind- 
ful that  their  welfare  and  that  of  their  workmen  are  insep- 
arable. 

All  combinations  or  conspiracies,  either  of  capitalists  or 
laborers,  the  purpose  whereof  is  to  violate  the  fundamental 
principles  just  laid  down,  are  inimical  to  the  public  good, 
and  ought  to  be  discountenanced. 

The  wages  system  doubtless  admits  of  improvements.  A 
life  of  daily  toil  with  the  hands  is  full  of  trials.  Capital, 
and  especially  corporate  capital,  is  sometimes  oppressive^ 
But  there  is  nothing  novel  in  this  ; and  I fear  the  time  will 
never  come  when  some  of  the  rich  will  not  grind  the  faces 


14 


of  the  poor,  and  some  of  the  poor  will  not  begrudge  the 
privileges  of  the  rich.  But  laborers  who  envy  the  lot  of 
the  seemingly  wealthy  man  of  business  should  know  that 
ofttimes  he  is  entitled  rather  to  their  commiseration. 
Lashed  to  his  task  by  the  exigencies  of  his  business, 
harassed  by  anxieties,  fearing  that  the  next  turn  in  aft'airs 
will  blast  his  hopes  and  leave  him  at  the  mercy  of  clamor- 
ous creditors,  he  often  purchases  his  superior  habiliments 
and  more  sumptuous  fare,  and  his  exemption  from  mere 
manual  labor,  at  a cost  utterly  ruinous  to  his  peace  of  mind, 
not  unfrequently  whelming  him  in  blank  despair.  It  is  an 
instructive  fact  that  in  proportion  to  the  number  engaged, 
ten  merchants,  bankers,  and  business  men  commit  suicide 
in  this  country  to  one  common  laborer.  Nor,  in  taking  a 
broader  view  of  this  question,  should  it  be  forgotten,  that 
under  our  free  institutions  the  mass  of  our  youth  start  even 
in  life,  one  having  just  as  good  chances  for  rising  in  the 
world  as  another  ; and  moreover,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  the  great  majority  of  our  citizens  who  have  attained 
eminence,  whether  in  public  life,  the  professions,  the  arts 
and  sciences,  trade  and  commerce,  or  who  have  managed 
large  business  enterprises  or  accumulated  vast  wealth,  were 
cradled  in  obscurity  and  bred  in  poverty.  I shall  be  ex- 
cused for  referring  to  such  bright  illustrations  of  this 
truth  as  John  Jacob  Astor,  Robert  Fulton,  Stephen  Girard, 
Henry  Clay,  Abbott  Lawrence,  Millard  Fillmore,  George 
Peabody,  Cornelius  Yanderbilt,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Even  when,  under  the  iron  heel  of  their  employers,  labor- 
ers should  know  that  strikes,  riots,  arson,  murder,  are  the 
worst  possible  remedies  for  the  ills  they  are  invoked  to  cure. 
Let  them  know  that  in  a land  where  all  are  equal  before 
the  law,  where  all  have  an  equal  voice  in  framing  the  laws, 
where  the  most  exalted  office  is  open  to  the  ^humblest  citi- 
zen, there  is  no  excuse  for  resorting  to  any  but  peaceful 


15 


means  for  removing  the  evils  that  afflict  any  part  of  the 
body  politic.  Is  American  labor  circumvented  by  capital 
and  crushed  by  corporations  ? 

“ There  is  a weapon  firmer  set 
And  surer  than  the  bayonet ; 

A weapon  that  comes  down  as  still 
As  snow-flakes  fall  upon  the  sod. 

But  executes  a freeman’s  will 
As  lightning  does  the  will  of  God.”  ^ 

The  discussion  of  these  questions  too  often  proceeds  on 
the  erroneous  assumption  that  only  he  who  uses  his  sinews 
can  be  properly  called  a laborer.  But  he  who  only  em- 
ploys his  hands  in  turning  over  the  clods  of  the  field  is  no 
more  the  laborer  than  he  who  produces  a painting,  or  in- 
vents a machine  or  writes  a book. 

Labor,  in  its  diversified  forms,  is  the  natural  lot  of  man. 
The  highest  places  in  society  are  only  obtained  by  active 
and  persistent  industry,  by  unrelenting  labor — labor  of  the 
head  and  labor  of  the  hand.  Brains  are  not  less  worthy  of 
consideration  than  muscles.  The  genius  that  invented  the 
electric  telegraph  was  as  properly  called  a worker  as  the 
artisan  that  manufactured  the  wire  along  which  the  light- 
ning flashed  messages.  Mechanical  labor  was  long  since 
divided  into  skilled  and  unskilled  ; and,  very  justly,  a far 
higher  estimate  was  put  upon  the  former,  because  from  the 
same  materials  it  could  produce  articles  of  far  greater  worth 
than  the  latter.  The  laborer  that  hammers  iron  and  steel 
on  an  anvil,  though  performing  a most  useful  service,  is  not 
entitled  to  as  much  compensation  as  the  mechanic  who,  by 
exquisite  manipulations,  transforms  that  iron  and  steel  into 
wonder-working  machines  ; while  far  above  either  of  these 
we  ought  to  place  the  genius  who  invented  the  machines. 
And  yet  all  are  laborers,  and  each  must  bring  his  labor  into 
the  market,  and  sell  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  And  though 


16 


it  may  sometimes  operate  unjustly  upon  the  lower  class  of 
laborers,  the  fact  will  still  remain  that  the  rate  of  wages 
will  he  determined  by  the  economical  laws  that  regulate 
supply  and  demand,  and  that  those  who  have  only  the  abil- 
ity to  delve  will  not  command  as  high  wages  as  those  who 
can  design  with  a fertile  brain  and  execute  with  a facile 
hand.  And  no  trades-unions,  or  riotous  strikes,  or  levelling 
legislation,  can  suspend  the  operation  of  the  inexorable  law 
that  has  determined  that  labor,  whether  mental  or  manual, 
or  both  combined,  must  be  sold  for  what  it  will  bring. 
Every  description  of  service  and  all  the  professions  are 
placed  in  competition,  and  the  most  intelligent  and  ener- 
getic are  the  most  successful. 

The  plan  of  remunerating  laborers  in  part  by  capitalists 
dividing  a portion  of  the  profits  of  their  business,  has  long 
been  advocated  by  a few  theoretical  minds.  The  recent 
troubles  on  railroads,  and  in  mining  districts  and  manufac- 
turing establishments,  have  brought  it  foi^ward  for  discus- 
sion in  some  practical  quarters  demanding  grave  considera- 
tion. Certainly  no  one  ought  to  object  to  any  corporation, 
company,  or  establishment  of  any  kind  putting  it  into  im- 
mediate operation,  if  all  parties  concerned  see  fit  to  do  so. 
We  are  to  assume  that  capital  and  labor  are  to  join  hands 
in  business,  and  stand  by  the  result  in  common. 

A large  railway  or  mining  company,  for  example,  may 
agree  to  compensate  its  laborers  by  a fixed  sum  per  month, 
and  a small  percentage  of  the  profits  besides.  JSTow,  this 
would  work  admirably  for  the  laborers  in  years  when  the 
company  made  profits.  But,  in  seasons  of  depression,  there 
would  be  years  when  there  are  no  profits,  but  a dead  loss 
instead.  Would  the  laborers  be  willing  to  contribute  a cer- 
tain percentage  from  their  previous  earnings  to  make  up 
this  loss  ? If  not,  why  not  ? For  example  : the  company 
in  a given  year  may  have  made  $100,000,  ten  per  cent 


17 


whereof  they  divided  with  their  laborers.  But  the  next 
year  the  company  may  lose  $100,000.  Is  the  company  which 
divided  ten  per  cent  of  its  gains  with  its  workmen  the  year 
before,  to  now  bear  the  whole  loss  ? Wonld  this  be  equita- 
ble or  just  ? 

If  this  system  is  to  be  applied  to  one  class  of  business, 
why  not  to  all  which  require  a combination  of  capital  and 
labor  for  their  prosecution  ? Is  there  any  thing  in  railroads, 
or  mining,  or  iron  manufacturing,  that  specially  adapts 
them  to  the  operation  of  this  system,  that  does  not  apply 
equally  well  to  merchandising,  banking,  shipping,  farming, 
manufacturing,  and  indeed  every  sort  of  avocation  in  which 
money  is  invested  on  the  one  hand  and  wages  received  on 
the  other  ? 

Perhaps  the  most  feasible  plan  for  solving  this  problem  is 
the  Co-operative  system^  which  exists  to  some  extent  both  in 
Europe  and  America.  Under  this  system  the  laborers  have 
a small  interest  in  the  profits,  for  which  privilege  they  accept 
lower  rates  of  wages  than  are  paid  to  others  for  like  work. 
In  prosperous  years,  this  method  is  advantageous  to  the  work- 
men ; but  in  seasons  of  depression,  although  not  liable  for  the 
losses,  they  have  to  submit  to  the  reduced  rates  to  enable 
their  employers  to  go  on  with  the  business.  Is  not  this  rea- 
sonable and  just  ? Laborers  should  never  forget  that  perma- 
nent employment,  even  at  comparatively  low  wages,  is 
infinitely  better  than  occasional  employment  at  higher  rates. 
Let  them  also  remember  that  an  intelligent  workman, 
thoroughly  in  earnest,  is  worth  far  more  than  one  destitute 
of  knowledge  and  indifferent  to  his  work,  and  will  natu- 
rally command  higher  wages. 

Parents,  think  of  this ! Facilities  for  instruction  are  now  so 
abundant  that  to  deprive  one’s  children  of  a good  practical 
education  is  scarcely  less  than  a crime.  Beading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic  are  the  means  of  education.  Geography 


18 


and  history  are  essential  elements  of  useful  knowledge, 
l^atural  philosophy,  geometry,  and  elementary  drawing  are 
important  as  parts  of  a good  and  sound  practical  education. 
A knowledge  of  natural  history  is  particularly  adA^antageous 
in  many  departments  of  industiy,  besides  refining  the  taste 
and  leading  its  votaries  to 

“ Find  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 

Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every  thing.  ” 

Some  theonsts  go  to  the  extreme  of  wanting  the  Federal 
Government  to  purchase  and  manage  all  railroads  in  the 
nation,  and  to  rim  them  imder  its  control  and  on  account  of 
its  treasury.  This  notion  has  long  been  entertained  by  a 
small  class  of  futile  minds.  It  came  from  Europe,  and  has 
its  origin  with  French  Communism.  It  assumed  unusual 
proportions  here  during  and  since  the  recent  labor  strikes, 
and  demands  consideration.  It  seems  to  assiune  that  this 
would  be  a complete  remedy  for  the  pretended  antagonism 
between  capital  and  labor.  But  are  railroads  alone  in- 
volved in  this  controversy  ? They  are  only  one  of  the  scores 
of  industries  that  require  great  outlays  of  money  and  vast 
numbers  of  employes  to  conduct  them.  If  the  government 
ought  to  own  and  manage  them,  then,  by  parity  of  reason- 
ing, it  ought  to  own  and  manage  all  the  other  great  indus- 
tries in  the  nation,  spreading  itself  in  all  directions  till  it 
carried  on  all  the  railroading,  mining,  navigation,  transpor- 
tation, merchandising,  banking,  printing,  clothing,  farming, 
and  what  not,  in  the  country.  So  logical  is  this  deduction 
that  the  original  advocates  of  this  erratic  doctrine  do  apply 
it  to  pretty  much  the  whole  business  of  the  nation,  making 
this  indeed  a paternal  government. 

I need  not  say,  Mr.  President,  that  the  universal  or  even 
the  general  introduction  of  such  a system  into  the  business 
of  this  country  would  work  the  greatest  reimlution  in  soci- 
ety that  has  occurred  in  any  nation  since  the  dawn  of  the 


19 


Christian  era.  It  would  be  a long  stride  toward  that 
Utopia  where  individual  property  would  cease  to  exist,  and 
where  all  things  would  he  held  in  common.  And  can  it  he 
doubted  that  if,  h}^  any  possible  process,  society  could  be 
now  arranged  on  such  a basis  without  so  convulsing  as  to 
utterly  destroy  it,  the  unnatural  structure  would  soon  fall 
to  pieces,  and  after  passing  through  a chaotic  epoch,  would 
gradually  rebuild  itself  on  very  much  the  same  ground  it 
now  occupies  ? Then  is  it  not  unwise  and  hazardous  to  en- 
courage an  experiment  so  fraught  with  peril  ? This  class 
of  theorists  may  be  absurd,  but  they  are  at  least  consistent. 
Are  not  those  who  would  embrace  only  railroads  within  the 
sweep  of  this  theory  both  absurd  and  inconsistent  ? 

It  is  not  necessary  to  expose  the  impolicy  of  such  wild 
schemes.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  for  the  national  govern- 
ment to  undertake  to  conduct  the  general  business  of  the 
country  at  the  hazard  of  its  treasury,  would  lead  to  untold 
abuses  and  end  in  universal  bankruptcy. 

As  for  the  rest,  the  cure  for  the  evils  complained  of  must 
depend  not  upon  legislation,  but  upon  intelligence,  sobriety, 
industry,  economy,  integrity,  and  the  silent  operation  of 
those  economic  laws  that  move  straight  onward  despite  the 
selfishness  of  capital  or  the  clamor  of  labor. 

An  eminent  Austrian  has  remarked  that  in  his  youth  he 
used  to  hear  the  inhabitants  of  the  Austro-German  Pro- 
vinces recognize  three  countries  : the  whole  country — which 
was  Germany,  the  smaller  country — which  was  the  Empire 
of  the  Hapsburgs,  and  the  still  smaller  country — which  was 
the  particular  province  to  which  each  inhabitant  belonged. 
In  like  manner,  may  it  not  be  said  that  we  have  three  coun- 
tries— the  Nation,  the  State,  and  the  City,  but  happily  all 
forming  one  glorious  Union  ? Let  our  only  division  be  a 
division  of  labor — so  essential  to  economical  and  indus- 
trial progress.  Let  us  be  men — following  attentively  the 


20 

facts  as  well  as  the  ideas  which  are  constantly  developing 
around  us.  Let  ns  belong  to  our  own  epoch  by  following 
with  close  attention,  aided  by  half  a.centmy’s  experience 
of  this  valued  Institute,  all  that  takes  place  in  the  great 
branches  of  commerce,  art,  industry,  and  labor  in  which  we 
may  be  interested.  Above  all,  fellow-laborers,  let  us  be 
true  to  ourselves,  true  to  our  Coimtry,  true  to  our  State,  true 
to  om*  City,  in  faithfully  performing  every  task  that  devolves 
upon  us.  This  is  the  only  way  to  play  our  part  and  do  our 
duty  toward  ourselves  and  toward  society. 


